"What's wrong with Woll?" "Old artifact": NHL fans react to report of Matt Murray returning for Maple Leafs

By Jackson Weber

Modified Dec 19, 2024 19:57 GMT

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Matt Murray is back in the NHL. News came out Thursday that Murray will be called up from the AHL's Toronto Marlies to make his first appearance with the Toronto Maple Leafs since 2023.

Murray has played eight games for the Marlies in the AHL this season, sporting a 4-1-3 record with a sparkling 1.85 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.

With goaltender Anthony Stolarz currently on the shelf for four to six weeks, Leafs fans are on edge about their team's situation in the net. Therefore, the news of Murray's return to the Leafs has sparked plenty of questions and concern among the Leafs nation.

Here's what fans had to say on X:

"Talk about dusting off an old artifact jeez."

Another fan was concerned about what the call-up meant for Joseph Woll, who has dealt with injury problems himself throughout his career:

"Omg are you serious? What's wrong with Woll???"

Another X account shared some details on how Murray has looked during his time in the AHL in the 2024-2025 season:

"Murray looked really good last night with the Toronto Marlies in his return to Wilkes-Barrie. 27-save shutout, made a couple really sharp saves to keep game 0-0 into middle of 2nd period. Well deserved."

Perhaps this will provide Leafs fans with more confidence in the called-up netminder.

Matt Murray could be the starter Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres

While it hasn't been confirmed which game Matt Murray will start, the Leafs have a back-to-back set of games this Friday and Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres and Islanders. It could make sense for the Leafs to look to ease Murray in with a first start against the struggling Sabres.

Murray appeared in 26 games for the Maple Leafs in the 2022-23 season, where he went 14-8-2 with a 3.01 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage, and recorded one shutout.

He then missed the entirety of the 2023-24 season after undergoing hip surgery. After a long road to recovery, Murray now appears to be fully healthy, with a return to being a full-time NHL goalie in his sights.

Matt Murray will look to begin his comeback potentially as early as Friday night in Buffalo, facing the Sabres at the KeyBank Center, where the puck will drop at 7 p.m. EST.